Sunday, March 18, 2012

Today Apple and Google execs appeared before congress to answer questions about the way their operating systems gather user data. Darrell Etherington of the Gigaom column at Businessweek reports that Senator Al Franken assured everyone that the purpose of the hearing was not to bring an end to location services, but to move forward while protecting customers.

While Senator Franken was working to protect consumers from overreaching data collection by cell phone makers, the Justice Department was arguing for laws requiring cell phone providers to collect more data on their customers. Declan Mcullagh reported in his Privacy Inc. blog that Jason Weinstein, the deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division testified on the need for cell phones to collect and retain data to make it easier for law enforcement to gather evidence:

"Many wireless providers do not retain records that would enable law enforcement to identify a suspect's smartphone based on the IP addresses collected by Web sites that the suspect visited," he added.

Really? They won't be able to identify a persons smart phone if they can't use the IP address assigned to it? I know some criminals will avoid putting any identifying information on the phone if they can, but really. The only way to identify a smart phone belongs to someone is by knowing it's IP and the web sites it visited. It makes you wonder how they were ever abe to solve crimes back in the dark ages when there were no smart phones with IP addresses and web sites to record them.

This is a typical overreach. The idea that government can require gathering data on everyone because there are a few instances the data may help in a criminal case goes against the spirit of the 4th Amendment and the idea of innocent until proven guilty. Why is a cell phone any different than the information in my home? They can't go into everyone's home and gather data to make it easier to solve criminal cases. Why should they be allowed to go into my phone? And why should they be able to gather data, or have someone else gather data from my phone without any evidence I've committed a crime? They shouldn't. That's what the Bill of Rights was written to protect us from.

About Me

Herbert (Bert) Knabe Jr. is a blogger specializing in online
security, privacy and intellectual property. He has long been a fan of
Apple computers and occasionally writes on their products. Online since the mid '80s, he has been blogging on a variety of topics
including U.S. policy and online privacy/security since 2005.

He
has twenty years experience in the newspaper industry, initially as a
production artist, then as a computer technician supporting content
producers. This experience gives him a strong understanding of graphic
production for print and web.

Photography has long been a passion
of Bert's, and he was honored to have a photo included in the PDF
version of the 2011 Plus One Collection. He specializes in cell and
smart phone photography.

Bert lives and goes to church in Lubbock, Texas with his wife of twenty+ years and their five children.